After a lackluster October jobs report due to strikes and storms, November’s jobs report shows that the market is back to healthy levels.
The Employment Situation report, released on Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, revealed that the U.S. economy added 227,000 new jobs in November, higher than the 214,000 jobs expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
The unemployment rate also rose from 4.1% in October to 4.2% in November. The number of unemployed people is now at 7.1 million, higher than it was at the same time last year when there were 6.3 million people out of work.
The healthcare, leisure and hospitality, and government sectors added 54,000, 53,000, and 33,000 new jobs last month, respectively, while the retail sector lost 28,000 jobs.
After the report’s release, EY senior economist Lydia Boussour told Entrepreneur in an emailed statement that the November employment report “showed a broad-based but temporary rebound in payroll gains of 227,000 as disruptions from strikes and hurricanes faded.”
“However, weaker household survey data confirmed labor market conditions are undeniably cooling with the unemployment rate rising to 4.25%,” she added.
November’s employment report exceeded expectations with jobs added, unlike October’s report, which underperformed. In October, the economy only added 12,000 new jobs, the smallest gain since December 2020 and below the 100,000 additions expected.
Related: The U.S. Economy Was Expected to Add 100,000 Jobs in October—It Added 12,000. Here’s Why.
Looking ahead, Boussour expects the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to cut the federal funds rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25%, at the upcoming December 17-18 policy meeting. The federal funds rate is the rate that banks pay each other on loans. She also forecasts that the unemployment rate will reach 4.5% by mid-2025.
“Going forward, policymakers at the Fed will tread carefully,” Boussour said.